Bay water hits 74 as fluke bite fires on the outgoing at Marine Parkway

The numbers don't lie — bay water hit 74 degrees this week while the ocean side is holding at 68. That six-degree gradient is doing exactly what it's supposed to do: pulling bait into the bay on the flood and concentrating fish at the choke points when it drains. I've been watching this pattern for twenty years, and when you get this kind of temperature spread in mid-June, the fluke fishing at the Marine Parkway Bridge turns on like a light switch.

I was out there Tuesday morning on the start of the outgoing, working the north side of the bridge with 3/4-ounce chartreuse bucktails tipped with 4-inch white Gulp Swimming Mullets. The key is staying in that 15 to 20-foot zone where the current creates that perfect drift speed — fast enough to keep your jig moving but not so fast you can't feel the bottom. Three keepers to 22 inches in two hours, plus a handful of shorts that all came on the same presentation.

The bait situation is what's really driving this bite. Peanut bunker are thick throughout the bay, and I'm seeing massive schools of sand eels getting pushed around by the current. When that 74-degree bay water starts draining through the inlet, it's carrying all that bait with it, and the fluke are positioned right where they need to be. The guys fishing from the rocks at Breezy Point are seeing the same thing — fish staging up on the outgoing, waiting for the buffet to come to them.

Weakfish are making their presence known too. I picked up two nice ones this week, both around 18 inches, on the same bucktail rig but working it slower through the deeper holes near the Cross Bay Bridge. The weaks seem to be holding in that 25 to 30-foot range, and they want that jig crawled along the bottom rather than hopped. Switch to a 1-ounce head if the current is ripping — you need to stay in contact with bottom to trigger these fish.

The surf side at Rockaway Beach has been producing some nice bass, especially the early morning and evening bites. I walked the beach at dawn yesterday and found birds working over schools of spearing about 200 yards off the 90th Street jetty. Threw a 1-ounce white bucktail with a 6-inch chartreuse Slug-Go trailer and connected with three schoolies in the 24 to 26-inch range. The fish are definitely there — it's just a matter of timing your trip with the bait movement.

What's interesting is how the wind pattern is affecting the fishing. We've had this steady southwest flow all week, 15 knots gusting to 20, and it's been pushing warmer surface water into the back of the bay. That's creating even more of a temperature differential and really concentrating the bait. The downside is it's making the inlet mouth a little sloppy on the outgoing tide, but if you can handle the chop, the fishing is worth it.

Canarsie Pier has been steady for porgies and small bass. The porgy bite is typical for this time of year — high-low rigs with small hooks, pieces of clam or sandworm, fished tight to the pilings on the incoming tide. Nothing huge, but plenty of action to keep the kids happy. I've been seeing some nice-sized sea bass mixed in too, though most are just under the 15-inch minimum.

Looking ahead, we're coming up on a new moon this weekend, which means spring tides and stronger currents. That should really get things moving at the inlet. The forecast is calling for the wind to clock around to the northwest by Friday, which will clean up the water and make boat fishing more comfortable. If this temperature gradient holds — and there's no reason it shouldn't with this weather pattern — I expect the fluke bite to get even better.

The key spots to focus on: Marine Parkway Bridge on the outgoing tide, the deeper holes between Cross Bay and Marine Parkway for weakfish, and the surf at Rockaway Beach during the dawn and dusk bites. Stick with bucktails and Gulp combinations, vary your retrieve speed until you find what they want, and don't be afraid to move if the bite slows down. The fish are there — it's just a matter of being in the right place when the tide and bait line up.